Wearable Headband Spots Early Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease

An EEG headband device that monitors brainwave patterns during sleep in a home setting, helps detect early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The device helps to monitor, abnormal levels of proteins that are related to sleep memory re-activations, which can be identified by brainwave patterns even before actual symptoms of Alzheimer’s set in (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Mapping sleep's oscillatory events as a biomarker of Alzheimer's disease

Go to source). The results were published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia, The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.

A Simple Night Headband Device Aids Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease

"This digital biomarker essentially enables any simple EEG headband device to be used as a fitness tracker for brain health," said Brice McConnell, Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

"Demonstrating how we can assess digital biomarkers for early indications of disease using accessible and scalable headband devices in a home setting is a huge advancement in catching and mitigating Alzheimers disease at the earliest stages."

In the largest study of its kind to date, the researchers analyzed data from 205 aging adults, identifying measurable problems with memory reactivation in association with levels of proteins such as amyloid and tau that build up in Alzheimer's Disease.

Researchers say this is an exciting step towards using wearables as digital biomarkers for disease detection. "We are just scratching the surface with this work, paving the way for affordable and easy-to-use devices to monitor brain health," McConnell said. "This is proof of the principle that brain waves during sleep can be turned into a digital biomarker, and our next steps involve perfecting the process."

Reference:

1. Mapping sleep's oscillatory events as a biomarker of Alzheimer's disease - (https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/alz.13420)

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